Hawks tumble in NECs

NORWICH, Ct. – As the charter bus carrying the second-seeded Sacred Heart University
baseball team began rumbling out of the Dodd Memorial Stadium parking lot late Saturday
afternoon it was accompanied by shouts of “”one more game, one more game” from Pioneer
fans.

While their team needs one more win to capture the double elimination 2011 Northeast
Conference Tournament, it’s a different story for top-seeded Monmouth, a 6-1 loser to
Sacred Heart a short time earlier.

The Hawks (35-18) must now capture three games in a row over the next two days
beginning with Sunday’s noon elimination game vs. Central Connecticut State (26-24-1) to
advance to the NCAA Regionals.

“”I guess everybody’s down right now, we just lost a tough game,” said Monmouth
senior Ryan Terry after Sacred Heart (33-21) snapped a 1-1 tie with five runs in the
bottom of the seventh inning against Monmouth freshman reliever Andrew McGee (Toms River South).
.

Monmouth is batting .220 (13-for-59) over its first two NEC games. “”It’s win or go
home now,” Terry said.

A comeback would not be unprecedented. CCSU came out of the loser’s bracket to win
the title last year.

In 2008 Mount St. Mary’s shook off a first-game defeat to win four games in a row
victimizing Monmouth twice in the championship round.

Sunday McGee, a former 20-game winner at Toms River High School South, an All-NEC
First Team honoree with six saves and five wins, had come on in the fourth inning to
replace injured starter Dan Smith.

Smith departed after grabbing at his left elbow after delivering a pitch.

“”Preliminary signs is it’s forearm tightness which is never a good sign,” said
Monmouth coach Dean Ehehalt. “‘But we’re somewhat optimistic he didn’t do anything major
to the ligament. That’s something an MRI will have to determine.”

Terry tied the score of with an RBI single in the sixth off Sacred Heart freshman
left-hander Nick Leningan (7-3).

The NEC Rookie of the Year retired the first 12 Hawks and hurled a complete-game
six-hitter, two-each by Terry and Ed Martin (Raritan).

“”He’s a tough pitcher because people want to get greedy,” Terry said. “”He’s easy
to get away from your plan on.

“”I popped up off him twice on two very good pitches to hit because I just wasn’t
sticking to my plan.”

“”Anybody who has been around the game of baseball knows that sometimes Lady Luck is
not on your side,” Terry said of Sacred Heart’s seventh inning.

The Pioneers sent 10 men to the plate in the inning when they had five hits and
McGee hit two batters.

dnote>Tony Graham:tonygsports@aol.com

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About Tony Graham

Long time Asbury Park Press reporter of local high school and collegiate sports. Proud Phan of the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

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Josh Newman on Monmouth University and local college athletics

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Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004, covering a variety of high school beats in addition to college sports and the New York Jets. A 2004 graduate of Springfield College, he is currently the beat reporter for Monmouth University.E-mail Josh

Sherlon ChristieSherlon Christie is a sports reporter at the Asbury Park Press. He joined the APP in the fall of 2004. He grew up in Massachusetts, has a BA in Journalism from Northeastern University's School of Journalism. He is also the secretary of the National Association of Black Journalists.E-mail Sherlon

Steve EdelsonSteve Edelson has been covering the area sports scene for more than 25 years. And while he has chronicled the accomplishments of many athletes, he's still patiently waiting for his first hole-in-one.E-mail Steve

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